Category Archives: Kayhi

The annual scholarship assembly is upon the senior class once again. The event will be held in the Kayhi Auditorium, beginning at 5:30 tonight. Seniors will be awarded and presented with the various scholarships and financial aid they won and received.This year’s senior class has cumulatively received a little over $200,000 in non-college awarded scholarships according to Kayhi Counselor Robert McClory.“You guys have worked all through grade school, middle school, and high school career to get to this point. I think this is an acknowledgment of all that hard work,” said McClory. “It’s a nice way to celebrate all [the seniors] accomplishments.”The senior class valedictorian will also be announced at the scholarship assembly where they will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship for their accomplishment. It is the first time such an award will be granted to a Kayhi valedictorian.

Due to a lack of substitute teachers, many Kayhi classes have been left teacherless as the year is drawing to a close. Principal Bob Marshall said that the sub-shortage is mostly due to summer jobs starting up.“Living on an island automatically limits your qualified applicant pool. We also are in direct competition to seasonal jobs and typically see a substitute shortage in the fall and spring due to folks working their summer jobs,” said Marshall. “One of the ideas that has been presented to the school board is the shortage is due to low wages offered to those willing to substitute. I would agree that it may be a factor for some and it would be good if the district could look to see if anything could be done to increase wages.”Kayhi senior Kadin Hodges said that when classes are left teacherless, students tend to get off track.“I’ve been in multiple classes that don’t have a teacher or substitute for whatever reason,” said Hodges. “It’s hard to focus because we don’t know what we’re supposed to be doing and there’s always those people that mess around and make it easy to get distracted.”Marshall explained that although combined classes can be a disruption to students, they must keep up the pace and focus on finishing their end-of-year assignments.“Students need to keep pressing on with the expectations of their classes,” Marshall said. “It is a disruption when teachers are unable to be present for whatever reason but ultimately it’s still the student’s responsibility to complete all assignments to the best of their ability.”

The senior cruise will take place directly after the graduation ceremony on June third. Students are asked to pay $20 to contribute to the event. Allen Marine Tours has donated a boat to take all participants to George Inlet Lodge for food, games, prizes, and surprises which will last until 2 or 3 a.m. Seniors are mandated to stay the night at the lodge unless a parent picks them up. The following morning, all seniors will be transported by bus to the Coast Guard base for breakfast, and vans will transport everyone to their vehicles afterward.Cruise director Gail Klein said that the goal of the cruise is for all the seniors to have one last celebration together before parting ways.“We want it to be inclusive, we want students to have a great time,” said Klein. “We want to make sure that they get to celebrate together and spend this last time with their friends, sometimes people say that after graduation they never saw classmates again because of work schedules or whatever, so we really want them to have this chance to celebrate together.”Gail Klein will be in the senior hall at lunch today as well as next week to collect the $20, checks can be made to “Kayhi Graduation Party”.

The much-anticipated senior prom is tomorrow, Saturday, Apr. 28 from 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. at Sunny Point. Following the event, will be the Prom After Party, which will be held from 12:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. at the Gateway Rec Center.

Dear Juniors,Senior year is fast approaching. Many of you have told yourselves you have plenty of time before having to worry about the college application process–you don’t. The time to start preparing is now. I’ll be blunt, senior year is brutal. The biggest lie you will be told — next to Santa Clause not being real — is that senior is the best year of high school. Here’s what you need to do to make it — you know what nevermind. You won’t take the advice. Go on doing what you were going to do anyway. I know you won’t listen, but I’ll still give my speel and hope some of it sticks with you.Standardized TestsAlmost all colleges require an SAT or ACT. The announcements you hear from the counselors’ center regarding standardized tests aren’t for seniors. They are for you. Sign up and take both tests at least once. You will do better on one than the other. Once you figure that out, check out a practice guide from the library and get to work trying to improve it. The ACT and SAT aren’t IQ tests. You can study to improve your score. If you can squeeze in more tests your junior year, do it. You will thank yourself when you won’t have to wake up at 7 a.m. on a Saturday to come take a test during your sleep-deprived senior year.EssaysThe next most important task you can invest your time into is writing college essays. The single most important essay you will write in your high-school career is probably your Common Application Essay — the online application that is used to apply to many colleges and universities. This single essay will be used virtually in every school you apply to and could potentially be the thing that makes you stand out if your test scores aren’t spectacular.College app essay writing is an art. It requires certain a certain style of writing that highlights you as an awesome and capable student without making you sound arrogant. The reader needs to see and feel who you are through your writing — one thing numbers and test scores can’t do.That being said, go online, find the most common college essay prompts, and at least be brainstorming about some of them from now until when the Common Application opens up again at the beginning of August. At that point, you should start writing it.Letter of Recommendations“Hey Professor Lundsworth, could you write me a letter of recommendation for The University of College?”“When is it due?”“In two days.” Awkward silenceDon’t wait until the last minute to ask for letters of recommendations. It’s not fair for the teacher or you. There is some etiquette to follow when asking for a letter: Give at least two-weeks notice (I’d shoot for three), a resume, and background on what it is for. It gives teachers time to brainstorm. Many will still write it towards the end of the deadline, but they know what they are going to say and how because they have had it in the back of their minds for weeks. Think of it as a less destructive form of procrastination. Have a letter of recommendations from a math/science teacher and a humanities teacher (English, history, the arts, music, etc). If you know what you want to major in and have taken a class that pertains to it, ask for a letter specifically from that teacher. For example, students who have taken Medical Terminology and plan to make a career in the medical field can ask the teacher of that class to write a letter–it looks good.You know what forget about it. I don’t expect you to follow the advice. That’s the tragic flaw of high-school seniors: realizing the truth only when it’s too late. I don’t want you to have to go through what I did, but I guess there is no better teacher than mistakes. Enjoy your senior year.P.S. Stock up on stress balls, caffeine for the late nights, and excuses for every conceivable situation that you think will arise your final year of high school.Sincerely,Largim Zhuta

This coming week the 9th and 10th graders will be taking the PEAKS test. Starting on Monday the freshmen will be taking the English portion of the test from 9-11. While the freshmen are putting their knowledge to the test, the rest of the students will have a three-hour study hall in their advisory classrooms. Tuesday morning will start off with the freshmen taking the math portion of the PEAKS test, again the rest of the students will be in their advisory classrooms. Wednesday morning its the sophomore’s turn, they will be taking the science section of the test from 8-10. Following the tests all three days, students will have 30 minute class periods to end the day.The Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools (PEAKS) is a statewide benchmark exam. Although the scores don’t directly affect the students, they have a major impact on the school. They are used to determine that the students are learning what the state decides they need to know. Mrs. O’Brien states the importance of the PEAKS exam scores.“The scores are published on the report card to the public, presented to the school board, and used by the state to determine how we are doing in teaching our students.”All students testing are encouraged to try their best and put their knowledge to the test.Good luck 9th and 10th graders!